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Pilot
"Pilot" or "Hell on Wheels" is the first episode of the first season of the AMC series Hell on Wheels. It was written by executive producers Tony Gayton and Joe Gayton and directed by executive producer David Von Ancken. It was first broadcast on November 6, 2011. Synopsis Prologue In 1865, a Union Army veteran, later identified as Prescott, walks into a Washington D.C. Church. In the confessional, he admits to committing war crimes while serving with General Sherman on his march through Georgia. An unseen man on the other side of the divider urges soldier to confess further details. When the former soldier balks, the unknown man then asks him about what happened in Meridian, Mississippi and then proceeds to shoot the soldier in the confession booth. Act I Entrepreneur Thomas Durant delivers a stirring speech to potential investors about the importance of his continental railroad project and how it will reunite and rebuild the country in the aftermath of war. After the speech, he meets with the chair of the Senate subcommittee on railroads in order to bribe the politician with shares of the newly formed Credit Mobilier, the company that will receive all future government railroad contracts and then subcontracts to Union Pacific (for whom Durant also works). This allows Durant to "pay himself to build a railroad with government subsidies." On a westbound train Sean and Mickey McGinnes, two young Irish brothers, read a newspaper story about the Union soldiers' murder in D.C. and meet Cullen Bohannon, the murderer, though no one knows this. As it turns out, all three men are headed west to the railroad construction site. Eventually the train arrives at Hell on Wheels, a moving camp town that follows the construction of the railroad. Hell on Wheels is home to workers, saloon owners, cooks, launderers, prostitutes and other hangers-on that fuel the informal economy of the railroad camp. Upon disembarking, Bohannon interviews with Daniel Johnson, the railroad foreman, for a job. During their initial encounter, Johnson remarks that he was a Copperhead before being drafted into the Union army. He also inquires as to whether Bohannon ever owned slaves, to which the southerner admits. Eventually, Johnson hires Bohannon as a walking boss and takes him out to meet his crew, consisting mostly of freedmen, including Elam Ferguson, who resents working for a former slave owner. Near the camp, Reverend Cole baptizes Joseph Black Moon, a Cheyenne, in the river. This act symbolizes the washing away of his sins and his arrival into the Christian faith. They later ride into Hell on Wheels to establish a church. Meanwhile, as Durant travels by rail, he berates his lead surveyor for planning a railroad that is too straight. The surveyor protests that surrounding land is flat and no detours are necessary. Durant, however, wants the rail to detour as much as possible because he is paid by the mile. He fires the lead surveyor and promotes Robert Bell to the position. Act II Robert Bell serves with an advance surveying camp in Nebraska. His wife Lily also helps him, though he reminds her of their agreement that she return to Chicago once they enter the hostile territory of the Cheyenne Indians. The next morning the survey camp comes under attack and Robert and Lily escape on foot into the woods with their maps. A single attacker catches up with them in the woods, wounding Lily and killing Robert before Lily kills him. She then makes her escape further into the woods with the maps. Meanwhile, back at Hell on Wheels, Bohannon is drinking and playing cards with Johnson. He reveals that, though he owned slaves, he gave them their freedom a year before the ware broke out. His wife was a northerner and she convinced him of the immorality of slavery. She was eventually killed during the war. The next day on the cut crew, Elam's friend Willie becomes ill and they go to get water before the scheduled break. Johnson rides by and whips Willie. Then, a nearby gunshot startles Johnson’s horse, causing it to rear up kick Willie in the head, killing him. Act III On his train, Durant receives word that Robert Bell is dead and that no maps were found at the scene. Distraught over this news, Durant orders his train to head to Hell on Wheels. That night, Bohannon heads to Elam's tent and tries to talk him out of killing Johnson in revenge for Willie's death. Bohannon tells Elam that he must let go of the past but does not answer when Elam asks whether he has let go. Bohannon's next stop is the McGinnes' tent. The two brothers have established a very successful picture show business. Finally, Cullen meets with Johnson again at the bar, though he surreptitiously avoids drinking while he questions Johnson. Eventually the discussion turns to the war and Johnson admits that he committed atrocities during his time in the Army. Cullen asks him about Meridian, Mississippi, but Johnson pulls his Remington and forces Cullen out through the back of the tent at gunpoint. Johnson says that he read about the murder of the union soldier in D.C and figured that Bohannon would come after him sooner or later. He also tells Cullen that his wife was killed by a Union sergeant and then hung to falsely indicate suicide. Before Johnson can get the name of the sergeant, Elam attacks Johnson from behind and cuts his throat. Category:Season 1 Episodes